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Share the Road

Being discourteous to cyclists is a form of bullying

Bicycles aren't just for kids and those interested in a recreational
workout. Many people use bikes as transportation for a variety of
reasons, including economics, exercise and lessening their overall
carbon footprint. Bicyclists have as much right to be on the road as
car drivers, and it's time Louisiana drivers acknowledge this before
more people are injured or killed.

In the current legislative session, state Rep. Michael
L. Jackson, I-Baton Rouge, has introduced House Bill 725, which would
require a motorist passing a bicyclist on a roadway to maintain at
least 3 feet between the vehicle and the bike. Additionally, the bill
provides for a public awareness campaign to notify motorists of the
provisions of the proposed law and signage encouraging drivers to share
the road with bicyclists. It also would prohibit taunting or throwing
objects at bicyclists and authorizes a $250 fine against those who
violate the new statute. The bill has cleared the House and a Senate
committee. It is up for final passage this week in the Senate.

We urge senators to pass HB 725, which also is known as
the "Colin Goodier Bicycle Protection Act." Goodier, a 28-year-old
doctor and New Orleans native, was killed last year when a pickup truck
struck the back of his bicycle on River Road in Baton Rouge. The driver
of the pickup told state police he had briefly looked away from the
road. A few seconds of inattention is all it took to kill Dr. Colin
Goodier.

Motorists need to remember they don't own the road. The
2 tons of steel surrounding them not only serve as protection for
themselves, but also can inadvertently act as a deadly weapon. Cyclists
are vulnerable, and therefore motorists should follow a few simple
steps provided courtesy of Tulane University's Bike Tulane:

• Pass a bike only when there's ample room. If
there isn't enough space, slow down and wait. Don't take a chance with
someone else's life.

• Be aware when turning. Passing a bicyclist and
then immediately turning cuts off the cyclist. Instead, just as with
another car, wait for the bike to pass the intersection.

• Keep your hands on the wheel, not on the horn.
Cyclists can hear approaching cars, so there's no need to honk, which
can startle a rider.

• Bicycles are traffic, too. Give them enough room
and be careful when opening your door onto the street.

Dan Jatres, manager of the Regional Planning
Commission's bicycle and pedestrian program, says it was only recently
that the state's driving manual included any information about driving
near cyclists. With many motorists unaware of how to operate on a road
with cyclists, he says educating the public through outreach campaigns
is a good idea, and that drivers should know there are consequences for
breaking the law.

"The first step to that is outreach to law enforcement
to make sure they have a total, clear understanding as to the rights
and responsibilities of cyclists, which isn't always the case," Jatres
says. "It traditionally has not been a top priority in police academy
training to learn all the intricacies of the law as it pertains to
cyclists or pedestrians."

If outlawing taunting and throwing things at cyclists
seems like overkill, think again. Both Jatres and Lauren Sullivan,
founder of NolaCycle, a citywide bike route-mapping project, say
harassment of bicyclists is a common occurrence. Sullivan has been cut
off, doored and drawn into shouting matches with car-driving aggressors
numerous times in New Orleans. Jatres thinks this kind of behavior is a
result of people perceiving bikes as childish playthings, not as viable
means of transportation, leading drivers to feel it's OK to scream at
cyclists. "They view cyclists as something keeping them from where they
want to be as quickly as they want to be," Jatres says.

What more drivers should realize is that the "something"
preventing them from going faster is a human being. Behaving
discourteously toward cyclists is a form of bullying, especially when
you consider that a car weighs at least 200 times what a bicycle
weighs.

Cyclists shouldn't be let off the hook either. Too many
cyclists bike against traffic, ride on the sidewalk and don't yield or
stop. Bicyclists can't expect motorists to obey the law while they're
breaking it.

Hopefully, education, empathy and the occasional $250
fine will go a long way toward ensuring a peaceful coexistence between
motorists and cyclists.